The recent deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd have challenged me in ways that I didn’t think possible. Ashamedly, I have seen and heard of similar events in the past but managed to somehow brush them under the rug so to speak, or better yet, ignore them and go on with my daily living. But this time it has been different. This time, the Holy Spirit has wrecked me over these deaths and the polarizing issues that they represent. I am not writing this blog today as an expert or educator on any level. This is not being written for political purposes nor do I have a political agenda. Last, but certainly not least, I am not writing as one who claims to know or understand the struggles these two African American men faced. My genuine desire here is to share my experience with a simple prayer that I earnestly prayed regarding all of the above. The prayer was simple and went something like this: God search my heart. Please show me any beliefs, thoughts, or ideas that I have that do not line up with your heart for my fellowman. Point out to me the things that I see and hear that do not line up with your purposes. I no longer desire to be part of the problem, I sincerely desire to be part of the solution. Not man’s solution, but YOUR solution.
To be honest, I wasn’t really ready for his response. As I share my journey with you it is my sincere prayer that it will challenge you the way that it has challenged me. The only way for real change to occur in our hearts is for us to be continually challenged by the filter of God’s word. It did not take long for God to begin to speak to me. It was loud and clear that first and foremost God was calling me, as his representative on earth, to be part of the solution and NOT part of the problem. By this time I already had one big lump in my throat. Then three words began to flood my thoughts. Three words that I could not escape from no matter how hard a tried. These three words were dehumanization, pride, and repentance. I knew in my heart that God was showing me that if these things were left unchecked I would completely miss his heart for my fellowman. At first, I couldn’t put the pieces together, but as I watched events in our nation unfold, God began to show me what he was trying to say through what I was seeing.
We live in a world that is given to the manipulation of our thoughts and thought processes. We see this happening more and more via media be it social media or the news media etc. For this reason, it is imperative that we, as the body of Christ, undergird our thoughts and minds with the one thing that is unchanging and undeniable and that is the truth of God’s word. Dictionary.com describes human as “ of pertaining to, characteristic of, or having the nature of people.” God’s word, on the other hand tells us in Genesis 1:27 that “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” In Jeremiah 1:5 God takes this a step farther and tells us that before we were ever formed in our mother’s womb God knew us and that we were set apart for his purposes. It is only when we see our fellow man through God’s eyes that we can properly respond with God’s love to any and every situation that we are confronting.
God has not called me to political agendas nor has he called me to social movements. While social movements often have good premise, they tend to take my focus off of the humans they represent. This focus on movements is the beginning of the dehumanization of those created in God’s image. Reducing humans to a “movement” allows me to separate myself from the pain endured by those that have been wounded. One example that God has shown me of this is many responses that I have seen to “Black Lives Matter.” Many respond with “All Lives Matter.” What is wrong with this response? Is it truth? Is it biblical? Yes would be the answer to all of the proposed questions but this response completely misses GOD’S HEART. God is showing me that the response that represents his heart would be a little more like this: I recognize and am sorry for your pain. What can I do to help you heal? Miriam Webster defines dehumanization as follows: to address or portray (someone ) in a way that obscures or demeans that person’s humanity or individuality. I have to ask myself am I getting so caught up in words that I am missing the heart? If I call myself a Christian and respond in ways that don’t represent God and his purposes I am acting as part of a problem and not the solution. The same holds true for the response “Nobody living today has ever owned slaves. Why can’t we just forget about it and move on?” I am so thankful that I don’t serve a God who tells me to forget it and move on when I come to him with my pain. He rather responds to me with grace, hope, and healing. Once again, the response that recognizes God’s heart would look more like this: I am so sorry for your pain and the pain of your ancesotors. Please forgive me. What can I do to help you heal? In Matthew 5:16 we read “ Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. May our responses always lead people to the light.
Secondly, God has called me in Micah 6:8 to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with God. The enemy of humility is pride. The word sin is derived from the Greek word hamartano. Hamartano is an archery term which simply means to miss the mark. I don’t know about you, but I miss the mark daily. There is never a time when I am completely free of sinful thoughts or actions and yet many times I take pride in the form of religious superiority. This can be seen when I choose to see people through the light of their sin and deem myself as more worthy because the sins that I struggle with daily are not as “bad.” Unfortunately, I have seen this on display daily on social media. I have seen many Christian’s respond to the recent murders by posting and speaking of the victims past criminal activity. This type of response puts one in the position of judge and jury and that is God’s position. Satan is the accuser of the brethren and taking this type of position couldn’t be further from the heart of God. Romans 5:8 reminds us that God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Seeing these responses to these two men’s murders has made me ever more cognizant of the fact that because of the great sinner that I am ,and have been, I deserved death, hell, and the grave but God in his rich love and mercy spared me of what I deserved and instead clothed me in his righteousness.
The final thing that God has been revealing to me is the need for me to repent. Repent not only for my sins of racism and prejudice but also for the sins of the nation as well as those of my ancestors. In II Corinthians 7:10 we read “For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. God is calling the body of Christ to repentance. No, we may not have owned slaves but our ancestors did. We may not be oppressing people but there are those in our country who are. We are being called to repentance for our nation. The need for repentance in this area may be more easily understood if it is compared to the issue of abortion. While many in the Christian community have never personally chosen to abort a child, we seem to have no problem crying out to God and repenting for the abortions committed today or in past generations. Why? Because our hearts hurt for the babies crying out from the grave. God is challenging us to remember the lives that are crying out from the grave that have been unjustly abused and many murdered due to the melanin in their skin. Repentance is powerful tool. It is a weapon of warfare and God is calling us to use it for the healing of our nation. Forgetting is NOT the answer, repenting is and always has been the answer!
My experience may anger you, challenge you, or call you to repentence. It is my sincere desire that it cause you to see every human being through God’s eyes. May we replace pride with humility and live a life that is eagerly willing to repent for the sins of our nation. Ahmaud Arbery’s life mattered, George Floyd’s life mattered, and “Black Lives Matter!” They mattered so much to God that he sent his only son to die on the cross for each and everyone. Their lives matter to God so they matter to me! God forgive me for my thoughts and actions that don’t line up with your word. Forgive our nation and our ancestors for their sin and injustice and reach down from Heaven and heal our land! May I forever be part of the solution and may YOU continue to filter my thought processes through the light of your word.
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